Australian Open’s Rising Popularity Also Brings Growing Pains

Much like the US Open, another tennis Grand Slam—the Australian Open—is becoming something of a victim of its own mushrooming success.

The initial days of Australian Open qualifying this week have seen unprecedented attendance as crowds have flocked to Melbourne Park, pushing facility capacity to the limit—just like at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. 

Monday’s opening day of qualifying drew a record crowd of 29,261, nearly quadruple the comparable figure of 7,543 from the 2025 tournament. That was followed by crowds of at least 34,000 for each of the subsequent three days—all lapping last year’s figures as well. Through the first four days, the tournament drew a total of 136,248, 17% higher than the entire qualifying week in 2025.

All told, Australian Open organizers expect to draw nearly 300,000 fans for the qualifying week, despite a 2024 move to begin charging adults for opening-week tickets that previously were free.

“It doesn’t feel like it’s the first day of qualifiers. It feels in many ways like it’s the first day of the event,” said Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley after the banner initial day. “But this is the first day of 21 days of activity, entertainment, [and] sport.”

All of this is before the Jan. 18 start of the tournament’s main draw. Last summer, the US Open drew a record attendance of 239,307 for the qualifying week, ultimately setting the pace for a total attendance of 1.14 million that beat the prior record by 9%. 

The same dynamic is playing out in Melbourne. Last year’s total tournament attendance of 1.22 million, including the qualifying week, is all but certain to be surpassed, and perhaps by a lot. Like the U.S. Tennis Association, Australian Open organizers have also put a significant emphasis on attending the qualifying week, touting the cheaper tickets and buttressing the tennis with a variety of other fan activities and a festival-type vibe. 

Feeling the Strain

As great as the top-line numbers for the US Open have been, that tournament last year showed increasing strain as fans struggled to get to the tournament and move freely within the tennis center, and complaints increased about rising prices for tickets and concessions.

Similar reports are now emerging from Australia. Like in New York, outcry has grown about concession prices, while Australian media has also uncovered fan confusion about the difference between tournament qualifying and the main draw. 

Tennis Australia backed its marketing around what it calls Opening Week—similar to the US Open’s moniker of Fan Week for its qualifying—and said it engaged in an “extensive awareness campaign” to boost the qualifying round.